Sectional boat



(No Moaei.) Y D. W. CASE,

SEGTIUN'AL BOAT.

No. 274,157.1. Patented Manzo', 1883.

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v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DUDLEYV. CASE, OF BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

SECTIONAL BOAT. i

SPECIFICATION forming part of Iietters `Patent No. 274,171, dated March' 20, 1883.

Application filed December 8, 1882. (No model.)

, and theinvention consists in constructinga vessel with comparatively open midships. while the bow and stern sections are water-tight and separated from the open midship section by water-tight bulk-heads, for the more ready convenience in loading, transporting, and dis charging logs and timber, such as is now usually raftedv from 'point to point. j

It is usual in moving large masses of logs or timber from the place of production to the point of consumption to make such logs or timber up into rafts, which are towed by means of tugs-a process accompanied by great risks of loss and at a large expenditure of time; and the object of myinvention is to construct a vessel which carries her own means of steam propulsion, so constructed that the :rear section may be detached in whole or in part from the midship section, and provided with appliances by means of which such sections are se cured together, adapted foi` loading ythe logs into the open midship sections, and provided with means for detaching the stern section for the ready discharge of the logs.

The inventionuconsists in lthe peculiar con'- struction of the parts and their various combinations and operation, as more fully hereinafter described.

Figure l is a side elevation oi' my improved steamboat. Fig. 2 is atop plan. Fig. 3 is a midship cross-section, and Fig. 4 is a sectional detail, in elevation, of the front and midship sections detached from the stern section.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, A represents the bow section of a boat, and B the open midship section, consisting of a keel, a, and door, b, and the sides c, which are built up from the iloor by means of rectangular timbers, laid one upon the other and secured in any convenient Way, by means of which the sides are made concave. 0f course from the point d to the cut-water c, or extreme front of bow, these sides are made to conform by bending or otherwise tothe proper shape to form the bow. The bow section from dto c is calked and made water-tight and decked over tightly to form a perfectlywater-tight compartment, the rear end ot' which is formed by the tight bulli-head C; The midship section, which extends from dtof, is made of timber, as I have already described, not decked over or calked, so that water may leak freely through the same, and the timbers used for the bow section and the forward part of the midship section are preferably ot' a lighter gravity than the timbers used to form the rear portion of the midship section, such timbers being (to obtainV the necessary length of midship section) in sections secured together in a manner well known to vessel-builders, and some of these timbers project beyond the rear'line of such midship section, as shown at D.

E is the stern section, built in the ordinary manner, and provided with a water-tight bulkhead, F, by which the forward end of such stern section is' closed. This stern section is fitted up with the usual'boiler, engine, and means of propulsion, with coal-bunkers, pilothouse, and is also provided with the necessary Winches to successfully operate the vessel.

In Fig. 1 it will be noticed that the overhanging section D of the midship section rests against the under side of the rail Gr on each side of the stern section, where it is secured by means oi' the winches and chains H; or these two sections may be secured together in any other desired manner which will allow them to be readily detached when required.

y As before remarked, the midship section is of any desired length, and the manner of building it up is plainly shown in Figs. l and 3, where, to obtain such desired length, various lengths of timbers to form the walls ot' this section are spliced together in a manner well known to shipand bridge builders. Upon the top rail of the midship section is supported an overhan gin g frame-work, I, to which are secured the pulleys J, over which run the chains K, which lead to the Winches L upon the deck of the stern section, and which may be operated by steam, if preferred. The other ends IOO ' inclined pla-ne and be floated out.

of these chains are Asecured to the top of the vessels sides, as at g. The design of this arrangement is to unwind the chains from the Winches to allow them to fall in loops, as shown in Fig. l, into the water, on one or both sides of the vessel, sncli loops to engage with the logs, one of which is shownl in Fig. 3 engaged in such loops, and after such engagement is had, by winding the chains upon the Winches, the logs are elevated over the sides of the inidship section and dropped into the hold, as shown in Fig. 3.

The bow section is provided with the pump M, by means ot which water accidentally admitted may be thrown out, and also for throwing out water which may be purposely admitted, for the purpose of connteracting, when necessary, the buoyancy of the bow.

The vessel having` been loaded and inthe condition shown inFigs. l and 2,'on reaching her destination to be discharged, the latter is -done by disengaging the midship section from lthe stern section, and the rear end of the midship section,being heavier, (owing to the heavier gravity ot' the timber of which it is constructed,) on being so disconnected from the stern section, will sink to a greater depth in the water, allowingr the logs to slide down the Ot' course, during this operation, there should be no water in the bow section, as its greater buoyancy then has a tendency to give a greater inclination to the tloor of the midship section to facilitate the unloading process. After being unloaded the stern section is again brought into place and secured. y

I am aware of Patents Nos. 47,501, granted to E. Turner, April 25,1865, for a floating dock, and 232,740, granted t0 T. McCosker, September 28, 1880, for an oyster-iloat, and makeno claim thereto.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A Vessel carrying her own means of propulsion, and consisting of a water-tight section, substantially in the form of a vessels bow, an open midship section through which the water may freely How, and a water-tight section in the form of a vessels stern, detachably secured to the open rear end of the said midship section, substantially as and for the purposes described. A

2. A vessel consisting of a tight section in the form of a vessels bow, an open midship section, and a tight section in the form of a vessels stern, in combination with means for detachably securing said stern section to the open midship section, substantially as and for the purposes specied.

3. ln combination with a tight bow section ot' a vessel and a detachable tight stern sec tion thereof, an open midship section, the rear end of which is made heavier than the front, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4.- In combination with a vessel constructed substantially as described, an overhan gin g frame supported on top of the open midship section, provided with means, substantially as described, for loading said section,as specified.

DUDLEY W. CASE.

Witnesses: i

H. S. SPRAGUE, E. l. SCULLY. 

